EarthLink partners with cloud software firm

EarthLink Inc. has announced plans to further its journey into the cloud.

The information technology services and communications company with offices in Rochester Wednesday said it has partnered with Maryland-based Virtustream Inc., a provider of enterprise class cloud software. EarthLink will use Virtustream’s xStream cloud services platform to expand the services EarthLink’s offers its clients as it relates to complex applications.

“With the xStream cloud software deployed as part of our next-generation cloud architecture, we will more efficiently serve our clients in the SMB market,” said Mike Toplisek, executive vice president of sales and marketing for EarthLink, in a statement. “We can bring additional economies of both scale and skills to our small and mid-sized clients, a privilege once afforded by large enterprises only.

“Our broader set of managed cloud services will continue to reduce customer need for dedicated IT hardware, software and or even personnel to support new applications.”

EarthLink said it is currently deploying the xStream solution at its Rochester data center. The Rochester location is one of four data centers the company has on its network, with plans to launch new cloud centers in Dallas, Chicago, San Jose and Miami during the first half of 2013, the company said.